TOM WAITS - Chocolate Jesus @ Letterman

[@robertkees6048]

I've probably been thru 36 Tom Waits fazes since I first discovered his three eighties albums at a College party in 1988. Once he swims in your blood it's never the same again.

[@theguylikesmovies]

The pool never closes.

[@chancethadood]

happy easter everyone

[@JudithBlackie]

An immaculate confection !!! ❤️❤️❤️

[@brotherchunkymusic950]

Tom Waits is a genius and Letterman was the only host that could interview him properly.

[@ferouihamza]

you can tell Letterman really enjoyed hanging out with tom

[@craigharmerus2228]

This is the best copy of the Tom's "Chocolate Jesus" performance on Letterman that i've seen ... and it's a brilliant performance! Watch this!!!

[@Legionmint7091]

I stumbled upon Rain Dogs back in 1985 and listened to it on repeat for a week. Then I went out and bought all his previous records. Been a devoted fan ever since.

[@ecyranot]

Tom always comes prepared with a story or a conversation piece. I think Dave appreciated that.

[@williamfry6087]

I am mesmerized, thank you Jesus - chocolate Jesus.

[@isetta4083]

This is so surreal, I've been watching the VHS rip for years and seeing this same performance in ""high""" quality feels unreal and whimsical

[@yves-vv6uf]

He is certainly a beautiful gift for all of us 🙏🙏🙏✝️✝️✝️☮️☮️☮️❤️❤️❤️❤️👏👏👏👏😎😎😎

[@cpndSimyule]

he's a pure wizard

[@yves-vv6uf]

A show man,of a unique kind ❤❤❤

[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

Tom's anecdotes of Biblical purportions are always fascinating and hilarious. A true national treasure--there is nobody else like him.

[@Missjunebugfreak]

Truly one of my favorite people in music. Just an absolutely unique artist.

[@TheMrHakujin]

“They sharpen their knives on my mistakes.” Testify!

[@andyrewchase]

Some people get it and some others don’t. I get it and this performance I watch all the time. Gives me chills.

[@tristanmike]

I've always been proud of the fact that my father exposed me to all sorts of music. From The Beatles to Frank Zappa to Hank Williams to Men at Work, he listened to almost everything. I say almost because I had never heard of Tom Waits as a musician and thought he was just an actor. It wasn't until my 30's did I discover his music and my life has never been the same. I am baffled that my father, with all the great music he listened to, does not have a single Tom Waits record. I now have them all.

[@chuck1804]

You're never too late to discover Tom Waits. Life enriching music at any age.

[@JustineDodd]

Geez - that is a LOT of albums! And every one is a gem :)

[@charliewhite7596]

Saw Tom waits in concert and have followed him since the early 70s

[@MrZipdang]

The showmanship! Magical, truly!

[@chrisshill5044]

I think that would be a great album title. Throwing confetti and dancing backwards

[@Ayoayoayoayoayoayoa]

Or fall out a window with it in your hair

[@elsiebert2273]

All of the above and the banjo player is brilliant!

[@MelancholyProductions]

Genius artist

[@vtheb1299]

Thank you for uploading and please correct the title of the video. Make It Rain has gotten me through the worst parts of my life. It deserves to be there.

[@eas1216]

Pure brilliance.

[@douglasjackson8571]

Tried to scroll thru All the comments Again. Zerelda Lee was Horse Name during 1980s.

[@causti9744]

Thank you for the hq upload, absolutely insane in comparison to the VHS rip i saw before.

[@zovalentine7305]

❤ Tom Waits ❤

[@jeremiahhankins3372]

I will ALWAYS be a #Raindog howlin in the wind, struttin my stuff, and lookin for that downtown train.

[@Buran288gto]

What a gift. Thanks.

[@funksoulbrother3620]

I thought it couldn't get any better then at 14:40 Tom pops up with Judah Bauer and Russell Simins from JSBX. Yup that's the stuff

[@christertonnberg8411]

the king

[@bibabuba8223]

... sharpen their knives on my mistakes .. . .. damn

[@mjmcnult]

I am in the church of Tom Waits.

[@shaneward4250]

Amen

[@ChristopherPHammond]

The "Imaculate confection" comment doesn't raise a titter??

[@keithdoeskungfu]

He's a comedian for sure 😂

[@barronrugge]

What's my neighbor doin, I've got a right to know!

[@dmlevitt]

genius

[@buffalee]

G E N I U S

[@banba317]

@ 2:51 the guy TUNES the banjo... Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.... WTF for?

[@brianjones6500]

I think some beliefs are more fun if you stumble into them. I blame the door hinge; and the horses ability to work around something not chewable.

[@pardus5045]

Make it rain

[@dmlevitt]

my her0

[@scottprice8994]

Tom Waits and Joe Cocker could be brothers. Ha ha

[@Ralphydub]

Maybe in a sitcom being backed by Universal on Mars

[@gazignoli4070]

Он научил санбоя петь через ведро

[@zaperfan]

Tom is just pure genius

[@brianjones6500]

Proper cologne is made from a room full of boys playing and the shoes stink worse than what anybody could imagine. Think...now please if you don't want to barf in public. Think 5 teenage boys and all shoes are off in a room that is sealed off. As a responsible parent I would check in to talk about hunger and if the situation down below required a full or a half pyrex pan of lasagna.

[@raddastronaut]

Tom that chemical that’s getting them going is the lead in the paint! Jk. I hope not.

[@termsofusepolice]

Waits is as close as you can get to a blackface minstrel show without the shoe polish.

[@ExcitedAnacondaSnake-hg8ec]

wtf? He never uses black face. Black face minstrel shows didn’t invent this kind of multi-facet drama based entertainment either; it’s centuries old.’

[@termsofusepolice]

@@ExcitedAnacondaSnake-hg8ec I was referring to Tom's fake, 80 year old black man voice.

[@ExcitedAnacondaSnake-hg8ec]

@@termsofusepolice I assume you are referring to his singing cause I know a lot of white people that talk like him. His speaking voice is what happens after a thousand cigarettes. If you defines waits as a minstrel show because he was influenced by blk singers, are you similarly defining The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Animals as minstrel shows? They were all influenced by black singers. The difference between a minstrel show and a singer is a minstrel show copies the likeness of a blk person and mocks it/disrespects. A singer isn’t necessarily copying the likeness of a blk person, only merely a VOICE or a SOUND, and the singer happens to be blk, which is secondary and not a consideration. The minstrel shows copies the qualities of a blk person to convey their likeness. A singer like waits copies a blk person to convey a sound, a vocal style. It has nothing to do with racism or condescending, mocking.

[@Jamesp1972]

This would now be called cultural appropriation

[@arthurriley5856]

Vocal Blackface at it's finest

[@Felswick]

You're wrong. Go listen to his earlier works. Don't forget the soundtrack to One From the Heart with Crystal Gayle. His voice is genuine.

[@GregorBarclay]

@@Felswickwell…. Genuine-ish. He smoked like a chimney on purpose to ruin it.

[@FluxDiablo]

Its funny you think this is how black people generically sound?

[@FluxDiablo]

He obviously takes influence from black music, especially to the likes of Screaming Jay Hawkins. But to call it blackface, is crazy. No one said that about Jim Morrisons blues